Nicole Manning: Coming to West Texas was right decision

Published 11:20 am, Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Image 2 of 4

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Image 3 of 4

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Image 4 of 4

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Nicole Manning, a teacher at Travis Elementary, goes to Zumba every week. Photographed at Zumba Class in the Lee High student center Dec. 17, 2014. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: James Durbin

Nicole Manning: Coming to West Texas was right decision

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

Nicole Manning’s strong Christian faith has played a role in bringing her to West Texas and getting her through the ensuing trials and tribulations that come with transitioning to the real world.

Manning, 23, is a second-year math teacher at Travis Elementary School. She also relocated to Midland from Michigan — Grand Rapids.

It all started in spring 2013 when she met Paul Hooper, MISD director of certified personnel, at a job fair in Michigan.

“I did not want to come to Texas at all. I was dead set against it,” Manning said. “It was one of the states I didn’t want to come to, but he just wouldn’t let me go by his booth. ‘No, ma’am, I really want to talk to you.’

“He was just very friendly about it, and being a person of faith, (I believed) there’s a reason this man is trying to talk to me out of the hundreds of people here.”

Manning subsequently interviewed and landed her current job. She also looked in other states, including Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, but the support and welcoming nature she felt from Midland affirmed her decision to join MISD. After a little online digging into Midland and after getting past the shock of a change of scenery, Manning said she was excited to see Midland had a lot of restaurants, parks and even gyms where she could keep doing the Zumba classes she loves.

“I just had this peace, this calmness inside me,” she said. “Even though I was terrified (of moving somewhere I had never been), it was just this, ‘Yes, this is the right decision.’”

Next began the “mission impossible” task of finding a place to live. Through a church connection, Manning met a family she could live with for a couple of months until she moved into her apartment in September. But, it wasn’t easy.

“A series of phone numbers and dead ends,” she said of finding an apartment. “‘OK, God, you brought me here and I have no place to live.’

“I just felt like I didn’t fit. I didn’t have a place that was mine. I didn’t even have a bed that was mine,” Manning said. “And I have to have this positive mentality on the first day when I see this class full of students for the first time.”

Soon after moving into her apartment, Manning realized she’d have no money left at the end of the month once her rent and bills were paid. Even with a housing grant from MISD’s Education Foundation, she was still paying $1,100 for an apartment that was riddled with problems and where she felt unsafe.

In May 2014, Manning ended her lease early, purchased a manufactured home and found a lot to put it on, all for less than what she was paying to rent a 700-square-foot apartment. At first, Manning was delighted to have a place of her own, but has since grown frustrated with poor service from the company she purchased it from and issues have emerged with the home’s quality. Eventually, she hopes to sell it and buy a “real” house when she can afford it.

Her housing struggles, especially early on, have helped her relate to her students.

“It was good for me, too, because especially working in a Title I school it made me understand a lot of stuff my students are going through,” she said. “I was struggling to figure out food because I didn’t have a paycheck yet; I had just graduated college and now I just spent $7,000 to move all of my things down here and now I’m on a wait list for all these holdings for all these different apartments and my money is just gone and I’m just trying to feed myself.”

Manning said she always felt drawn to working in a Title I school. Growing up, Manning said her parents made a lot of sacrifices to make sure she could attend a good public school. The school was affluent and lacking diversity, and Manning said she struggled to relate to her peers. While attending Cornerstone University, Manning also received the federal TEACH Grant, which gave her $2,000 a year as long as she agreed to teach in a high-needs area at a low-income school for four years.

Working at a Title I school, she has seen her students come to school hungry, without school supplies, running late because they missed public transportation or tired because they had to take care of their siblings or parents. At times, it can be emotionally draining.

“It’s rough, yes,” she said. “But when you can relate to these kids and get a relationship with them and build consistency and give them stability, they will do just about anything to make you proud of them because they often don’t have that at home. That kind of compassion and empathy they draw from you made me a better person.

“I learn from these kids — I promise you — every day, and I just pray I’m that effective that they learn something from me every day.”